


Can't sleep tonight

by unacaritafeliz



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bodyguard Suki, F/M, Fire Lord Zuko, Pining, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26945869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unacaritafeliz/pseuds/unacaritafeliz
Summary: Suki tosses in her bed restlessly, punching the pillow as she tries to get comfortable enough to finally sleep. It's Sokka's fault that she can't, of course, and it'll be Sokka's fault if something happens to the Fire Lord tomorrow because Suki was too damn sleepy to protect him. It's Sokka's fault that Suki got so used to sleeping with her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's ridiculously warm Fire Lord boyfriend, that she physically cannot sleep by herself anymore.[Suki and Zuko have gotten used to sharing a bed with their boyfriend, Sokka. When he goes back to the SWT, the two go back to their own beds, but struggle to fall asleep alone].
Relationships: Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 249





	Can't sleep tonight

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place several years after canon, when the kids are in their 20s. Suki and Zuko are both dating Sokka (he has two hands!) but are not dating each other (yet).

Suki tosses in her bed restlessly, punching the pillow as she tries to get comfortable enough to finally sleep. It's Sokka's fault that she can't, of course, and it'll be Sokka's fault if something happens to the Fire Lord tomorrow because Suki was too damn sleepy to protect him. It's Sokka's fault that Suki got so used to sleeping with her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's ridiculously warm Fire Lord boyfriend, that she physically cannot sleep by herself anymore.

Sokka hasn't even been gone a day and she already misses him so much she can't function properly. What the fuck is wrong with her?

Suki groans and throws the covers off herself, climbing reluctantly out of bed. She'll go for a walk, she decides, tying her robe around herself. Just a few quick laps around the palace to help her clear her head and then she'll come back and grab some much-needed rest. She grabs her fans, opens her room door and immediately comes face to face with someone lurking in the dark. Instinctively, she knocks them off their feet, holding an open fan threateningly to their face.

"Hey!" says the person, and Suki instantly recognises Zuko's voice. "Suki, it's me!"

Suki closes her fan and stores it in the belt of her robe. She'd feel bad about knocking the literal Fire Lord on his ass like that, but he honestly deserved it, sneaking around outside her room in the middle of the night like some kind of assassin.

"Sorry Zuko," says Suki, not bothering with official titles since they're alone right now. "I couldn't recognise you in the dark."

She reaches out a hand to help him off the ground, and he grasps it firmly, his palm and fingers warm and rough underneath hers. She pulls him so strongly that he overbalances, his free hand coming up to grab at her waist as he tries to keep them on their feet. It's only there for a moment before Zuko panics, dropping her hand and her waist and taking a step away from her like he's been burned.

For her part, Suki's just glad that it's too dark in the corridor for him to see the blush she can feel spreading across her cheek and all the way up to the tips of her ears.

"It's my fault," says Zuko, as he straightens his pyjamas, taking a little longer than necessary to brush the dust off his sleeve. "I shouldn't have been lurking around in the dark like a creep."

Suki's lingering embarrassment quickly fades as she switches into Head Guard mode at his words. It's not safe for Zuko to be stalking around alone at night, even if he is just around the corner from his own room.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," says Suki. She crosses her arms firmly across her chest and leans against the wall, fixing Zuko with a firm look. "What are you doing here, anyway? And where's Chio? I thought she was supposed to be watching you tonight?"

"I asked her not to follow me," Zuko explains, voice soft but firm. "I promised her that I wouldn't leave the palace. I don't need an entourage everywhere I go, Suki."

Suki rolls her eyes. It's an argument they have often enough. Suki wants an entire squad of guards with Zuko at all times, while Zuko likes to think he's strong and capable enough to manage by himself. Suki knows Zuko is perfectly capable to look after himself, but she also knows that it only takes one moment of weakness for the worst to happen, and they can't afford for the worst to happen. Not only is Zuko the only person they can truly trust to lead the Fire Nation, but he's someone she cares about very deeply. If something happened to him... well, she's not sure either she or Sokka could come back from it.

It's not an argument she wants to get into at whatever o'clock in the morning though.

"Why are you here, Zuko?" she asks again.

"I couldn't sleep," says Zuko. He brings his hand up to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit Sokka and Suki are trying to help him break. It won't do for a Fire Lord to have a tell. "I figured you probably couldn't sleep either."

Suki huffs out a quiet laugh. She should have known that Zuko would be suffering without Sokka too.

"I can't believe I actually miss his snoring," she says.

Zuko snorts. "Right?" he says. "It used to drive me crazy! But it's too quiet without him. My bed feels too empty."

"Yeah," Suki says, quietly. "Mine too."

"Right," says Zuko. He's fiddling with one of the buttons on his shirt now, and Suki's eyes are drawn to the movement of his hands. "So, I was thinking... If you can't sleep by yourself, and I can't sleep by myself, maybe we could try sleeping together."

Suki's eyes snap up to his face.

"I mean just sleeping!" Zuko rushes to clarify, even though Suki hadn't misinterpreted him like that. "I just thought that maybe this could help us both get some sleep. Besides it's not like it's the first time we've shared a bed."

Usually, when Zuko and Suki share a bed, it's with Sokka very firmly in the middle of them, keeping them completely separated from each other. It's an arrangement that works for everyone, since neither of them can sleep without Sokka and never mind sharing their wonderful boyfriend. This bed-sharing would, obviously, be completely different to that bed-sharing, but it honestly isn't even the lack of a Sokka-shaped buffer that's causing Suki to hesitate. She's platonically shared many beds before, she'd be happy to platonically share many beds again.

The problem is though, that Suki has some not-very-platonic feelings for Zuko.

She hadn't when all this had started. When Sokka had told her about his feelings for Zuko, she'd been very happy for them to get together without her having to be a part of it at all. Somewhere though, between the guarding, and the sparring, and the late nights conversation, and the sharing of their boyfriend, Suki had found herself falling for the kind, awkward, painfully earnest and still-kinda-angry Fire Lord. She doesn't know when her feelings started, she was in the middle before she knew she'd begun.

"Or not," says Zuko, when it's apparently been too long without an answer. "This was... really inappropriate of me. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, Suki. I'll just..."

Zuko turns to leave and Suki finds herself reaching out to grab his wrist, unwilling to let him walk away from her thinking he'd done something wrong. She watches his face as he looks down at the their hands and then back up to her face.

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable, Zu," she says. She drops his hand and pushes open the door of her bedroom, hoping none of the guards will go looking for Zuko tonight. "Come in."

It feels weird, because they don't ever sleep in her room. They usually sleep in Zuko's room, since he's got the biggest bed and the softest sheets, and occasionally in Sokka's room, when Zuko's working late and has to join them after they've already fallen asleep.

"Uhh, make yourself at home, I guess," says Suki, in the single most awkward statement that's ever come out of her mouth. Luckily, Zuko's the single most awkward person in the history of existence, so she only needs to feel a little ashamed about it.

Zuko climbs into his usual side of the bed, politely averting his eyes as she takes her robe off. It's ridiculous how awkward they're both being about this, because Zuko sees her in her pyjamas almost every night. It's different now, in the middle of the night, without Sokka's warm laugh echoing around the room.

Suki climbs into bed, settling on her side with her back towards her bed-mate, and Zuko turns towards her as soon as she stops moving, wrapping his arm around her waist. His warmth is all around her, and his arm is heavy and firm across her waist, and despite the panic bubbling up inside of her, Suki can't help but feel warm and protected in his arms.

They've come a long way since he burned down her home on Kyoshi Island.

"Is this okay?" he asks, voice quiet and raspy in her ear.

And, honestly? Suki doesn't know if this is okay. Sharing a bed with Zuko is going to change everything between them, and Suki doesn't know whether or not it'll change for the better. And Zuko's her boss, her best friend, her boyfriend's boyfriend, and the leader of the most powerful nation in the world... He's the last person she can afford to fuck things up with.

"Yeah," she whispers back, reaching out to cover his hand with one of hers. "This is okay, Zuko."

Zuko audibly exhales, and Suki can feel the moment the tension leaves his body and he sinks further into the bed.

"Good," he mumbles, sleepily. "G'night, Suki."

"Goodnight, Zuko," Suki replies, quietly, as she shuts her own eyes.

She's honestly still not sure if she'll get any sleep tonight but, if she doesn't, she's got no one to blame but herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, now kiss.


End file.
